The 1752 Group Explained
The 1752 Group |
Website: | https://1752group.com/ |
Formation: | 2016 |
The 1752 Group is a UK-based research and lobby organisation working to end sexual misconduct in higher education.
History
The Sexual Harassment in Higher Education (SHHE) Conference, the first UK university conference on staff-to-student sexual harassment, was held at Goldsmiths in December 2015.[1] The conference prompted the organisers, who had spent £1752 on the event, to create a national organisation to identify and address the sexual misconduct of staff within UK universities.[2] The 1752 Group was established in 2016. The Guardian newspaper have been strong supporters of the group.[3] [4] [5] [6]
Key people
The 1752 Group was co-founded by several academics with experience in student unions, organisational change, consultancy and grassroots activism. These include:
Members of the 1752 Group have given several interviews discussing their priorities.[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Speaking to the LSE, Dr Page emphasised the need to research and action "it's critical to situate this as being about equal access to education, which comes under the Equality Act 2010 and under institutional responsibilities. Universities need to safeguard and protect their students, but also ensure that they have equal access to resources. Staff sexual misconduct can lead to students interrupting or dropping out of their studies, or having to avoid any situation where they have to be in the same space as that staff member, which affects their studies and access in multiple ways".[14] Dr Anna Bull is running a HEFCE funded project examining university policies, involving focus groups who have experienced staff sexual misconduct.[15]
In 2020, the 1752 Group and Ann Olivarius's law firm, McAllister Olivarius, released a report, "Sector Guidance to Address Staff Sexual Misconduct in UK Higher Education."
Research
Sexual misconduct by academic staff is under-researched worldwide, and was last researched in the UK in 1998.[16] The 1752 Group are committed to developing research on sexual misconduct in higher education, and implementing UK-wide policy to protect students.[17] Their strategic priorities include:[18]
- Implementing a national code of conduct that clarifies professional boundaries
- Develop a reporting process for sexual misconduct
- Establish an independent national office for sexual misconduct advocacy and support
- Ensure all institutions record data and make publicly available reports on all allegations
- Address the long-term impact of staff sexual misconduct on those who experience it
- Implement comprehensive sector-wide and institution-level cultural change
In 2011, the NUS' Women's Campaign published Hidden Marks, which found "students who had been subjected to a less serious sexual assault were least likely (< 2 %) to report either to the police or to the institution".[19] The 1752 Group partnered with the National Union of Students to launch the first UK survey into staff sexual misconduct in higher education.[20] The report was published in April 2018.[21] It found that a third of universities have no policy on staff-student relationships, and as a result, less than 10% of students who experienced sexual harassment report the behaviour to their institutions.[22] [23]
Notes and References
- Web site: Sexual Harassment in Higher Education (SHHE) Conference . Sexual Harassment in Higher Education (SHHE) . 21 January 2018.
- News: About Us. 13 July 2016 . The 1752 Group . 21 January 2018 .
- News: Sexual harassment 'at epidemic levels' in UK universities . Bannock. Caroline . Weale. Sally . Batty. David . 5 March 2017 . The Guardian . 21 January 2018.
- News: NUS to investigate sexual harassment at universities . The Press Association . 17 November 2017 . The Guardian . 21 January 2018.
- Web site: UK universities turn "blind eye" to sex harassment – claim . David . Jobbins . The Complete University Guide . 30 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180122125039/https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/uk-universities-turn-%E2%80%9Cblind-eye%E2%80%9D-to-sex-harassment-%E2%80%93-claim/ . 21 January 2018. 22 January 2018 .
- News: How one UK university confronted its sexual harassment problem . Weale . Sally . 8 December 2017 . The Guardian . 21 January 2018.
- Web site: TRT World . Harassment Scandal: Dr Anna Bull Joins the discussion . 4 November 2017 . YouTube . 21 January 2018.
- Web site: Women's Classical Committee . WCC-UK . 21 January 2018.
- Web site: Ending sexual misconduct in UK universities and protecting students . 6 November 2017 . . 21 January 2018 .
- More universities must confront sexual harassment . Nature . 26 July 2017 . 547 . 7664 . 379 . 10.1038/547379a. 28748954 . 2017Natur.547Q.379. . free .
- Web site: National Union of Students launch survey into sexual misconduct at UK universities . Fyles . Fred S. . 24 November 2017 . Felix Online . 21 January 2018 .
- Web site: Nature Suggests UK Follow US Lead on Academic Sexual Harassment. Please Don't. . 3 August 2017 . Edge for Scholars . 21 January 2018 .
- Web site: Bias, stereotyping and harassment: what women battle . 28 July 2017 . Sarah . Tesh . PhysicsWorld.com . 21 January 2018.
- Web site: Report It. Stop It: how can reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence change the culture - Public lectures and events . 16 October 2017 . London School of Economics . 21 January 2018.
- Web site: University wins funding to tackle sexual harassment . 15 March 2017 . University of Portsmouth News . 21 January 2018.
- Web site: Why do we forget that university staff also harass students? . Olivarius . Ann . 21 October 2016 . Medium . 21 January 2018.
- Web site: The 1752 Group . The 1752 Group . 21 January 2018.
- News: Strategic priorities for higher education . 24 February 2017 . The 1752 Group . 21 January 2018 .
- Web site: Hidden Marks: A study of women students' experiences of harassment, stalking, violence and sexual assault . 2011 . National Union of Students . 21 January 2018.
- Web site: National Union of Students and The 1752 Group announce action into staff-student sexual misconduct in higher education . 7 March 2017 . NUS . 21 January 2018 .
- Web site: NUS staff-student sexual misconduct report @ NUS connect . nusconnect.org.uk . en . 2018-07-19.
- Web site: Universities can no longer turn a blind eye to staff dating students . Bull . Anna . Page . Tiffany . 2018-04-04 . . en . 2018-07-19.
- News: Academics are worst culprits, say students in sex harassment survey . Nicola . Woolcock . 2018-04-04. The Times . 2018-07-19 . en . 0140-0460.